Best and worst NFL preseason Week 4 bets

Week 3 of the preseason gave football bettors a glimpse at what life will be like in Week 1 of the NFL season. As for Week 4, well, let’s just say the final game on the preseason slate will test your mettle as well as patience. Teams rarely play their starters and are ironing

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What bettors need to know: Sunday’s NFL action

There are two games this Sunday in NFL preseason action as teams prepare to cut their rosters to 75 players Monday. We give you the essential tidbits to make your wagers. Carolina Panthers at New York Jets (-2.5, 41) The first team offense is clicking early for the Panthers and they scored a [...]

What bettors need to know: Sunday’s NFL action

There are two games this Sunday in NFL preseason action as teams prepare to cut their rosters to 75 players Monday. We give you the essential tidbits to make your wagers. Carolina Panthers at New York Jets (-2.5, 41) The first team offense is clicking early for the Panthers and they scored a [...]

What bettors need to know: Sunday’s NFL action

There are two games this Sunday in NFL preseason action as teams prepare to cut their rosters to 75 players Monday. We give you the essential tidbits to make your wagers. Carolina Panthers at New York Jets (-2.5, 41) The first team offense is clicking early for the Panthers and they scored a [...]

Liverpool 2-2 Man City

64:40 Steven Gerrard takes a shot. Jack Rodwell is penalised for handball and concedes a free kick. 82:49 Substitution Substitution (Liverpool) makes a substitution, with Andy Carroll coming on for Fabio Borini. 82:40 Edin Dzeko produces a left-footed shot from just outside the box that goes wide right of the goal. 81:56 Shot by Jonjo [...]

Stoke 0-0 Arsenal

75:23 The ball is crossed by Kieran Gibbs, save by Asmir Begovic. 73:48 Carl Jenkinson sends in a cross, Effort on goal by Vassiriki Diaby from deep inside the penalty area misses to the right of the target. 72:21 Mikel Arteta produces a right-footed shot from just outside the box that misses to the right [...]

The Lensois move to Arles on behalf of the second day of Ligue 2, with the ambition not to return empty-handed.

The offer is understood to be under consideration, with Wolves waiting to see whether Aston Villa decide to firm up their interest in the 25-year-old.

Fletcher’s former club Burnley will be due 15% of any profit Wolves make on a player they paid £7m for in 2010.

Sunderland are short of attacking options following the departures of Asamoah Gyan and Nicklas Bendtner. Fulham and Stoke are also interested.

“We are not getting drawn on offers for players in or out,” Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey told the

“Our best players are not for sale; we want to keep them and build the strongest possible team for the season ahead. We will do everything we can to retain the players we want to keep and continue to look to strengthen with new signings.”

Sunderland suffered defeat by Hartlepool on Friday, with none of manager Martin O’Neill’s three strikers – Fraizer Campbell, Connor Wickham and Ryan Noble – able to find the net.

Fletcher has two years remaining on his contract at Molineux, leaving Moxey in a strong position to negotiate the best possible deal.

No Sunderland striker reached double figures in the goal tally last season, with Bendtner and Stephane Sessegnon the top-scorers with eight.

“We know where the problem is. You just need to look at our scoring record last season,” O’Neill said last week. “This puts pressure on other players to score, either from set-pieces or midfield.

“Eventually centre-forwards have to weigh in and, at the moment, you would want to know who and when someone is going to score 15 goals in a Premier League season.”

The Great Britain women’s football team kicked off the 2012 Olympics with a hard-fought victory over New Zealand at a sun-soaked Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Hope Powell’s GB team were making their

first appearance in the women’s Olympic football tournament
and for a while it looked as though it might turn into a frustrating afternoon for her side after they wasted a host of good chances.

Analysis

“We wanted a good, confident performance and we got the win. Great Britain have a great bench and there are impact players who can do a job. It is a tough job for Hope Powell but a nice one to have. For Steph Houghton to have the confidence to strike the ball like that was great. It had whip and pace and the goalkeeper had no chance. It was a fantastic strike. She had the belief that she was going to score.”

But the first action of the Games was settled when full-back Steph Houghton converted a free-kick midway through the second half, much to the delight of an enthusiastic crowd of 24,549 in the Welsh capital.

Powell’s team celebrated with a group huddle at the final whistle and a lap of the stadium – and they can look forward to the remainder of their Group E campaign, which continues against Cameroon on Saturday.

But it was a very different story during the opening exchanges as they were outplayed by the Football Ferns.

New Zealand,

who lost to England in the group stage of last year’s World Cup,
controlled the early battle in midfield and created a series of half-chances.

It was a worrying 15 minutes for Powell’s team but once they settled down they soon started to carve open their opponents.

The barrage of chances started when Arsenal full-back Houghton forced a save from unconvincing Kiwi keeper Jenny Bindon.

Eniola Aluko had a shot blocked, while the profligate Anita Asante struck the post with a header – a let-off that prompted Bindon to kiss the post – and failed to convert two more excellent headed opportunities.

Alex Scott shot wide after collecting a through ball from the intelligent Kelly Smith and, as the opening half turned into a story of missed opportunities, Kim Little unwisely opted to pass when the Football Ferns keeper had dived early, leaving a gaping hole at her near post.

History threatened to repeat itself after the restart, with New Zealand starting aggressively and going close through an Amber Hearn free-kick.

GB then reasserted their dominance on the contest, with Ali Riley making desperate blocks to deny Scott and half-time substitute Ellen White.

But in stark contrast with the opening half, Powell’s side eventually finished one of their numerous opportunities when Houghton’s free-kick nestled into the bottom corner.

The crowd responded with chants of “Team GB”, but they were almost silenced when a mix-up between Ifeoma Dieke and Scott presented Sarah Gregorious with a clean run at goal.

It was a glorious opening for the 24-year-old but her tame effort was saved by Karen Bardsley.

There was one further scare for Great Britain as Hearn went close with a curling strike from the edge of the area but Bardsley tipped it over the crossbar.

Roma have confirmed Liverpool have a "real interest" in signing Italy striker Fabio Borini - and are "evaluating the situation".Reds manager Brendan Rodgers hinted on Monday that they were close to acquiring the 21-year-old striker, who worked under him at both the Chelsea academy and Swansea.

"There is a real interest shown by Liverpool for Borini," Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini said during today's press conference in Roma's pre-training camp in Riscone. "We are evaluating the situation with (Roma general manager) Franco (Baldini)."

Roma only bought Borini outright last month after paying Serie A side Parma £3.95million for the remaining 50% of the player's rights.

Borini, who was a member of Italy's Euro 2012 squad, scored nine goals in 24 Serie A appearances for Roma last season.

Reports in Italy claim that Roma could sell Borini and use the funds to buy coveted Siena striker Mattia Destro, who is also a target of Inter Milan and Juventus.

"We have been monitoring Destro's situation," Sabatini said. "We are on alert.
"We are neither in nor out."

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (QUALIFYING ROUND)
 07/11 01:00AM
 B36 Torshavn vs. Linfield FC

http://go.12bet.com/92033555/sportsbook/en/index.html 

WARSAW: Italy coach Cesare Prandelli will be looking for his side to extend their proud record of never losing to Germany in a major finals when they meet in Thursday’s Euro 2012 semi-final in Warsaw. Germany – who are seeking their first trophy since lifting the Euro ‘96 title – will be by contrast hoping to end that run in what is their eighth meeting at either a World Cup or a European championship finals. “There is no such thing as an invincible side,” said Prandelli. “Germany has that sense of knowing what they need to do. “They are also physically strong and have players who have tasted international success at club level, so they are a side with the ingredients to go all the way. “But we will study them closely and work on the few weak points they have.”

Italy needed a penalty shoot-out to beat England 4-2 in Sunday’s quarter-final in Kiev with the Azzurri failing to hit the net in normal play despite 68 percent ball possession and 35 shots compared to England’s nine. Prandelli has said the Italians will have to be daring in order to beat Germany, who are on a 15-match winning run in competitive matches since losing to Spain at the last World Cup. Germany’s forwards shone in Friday’s 4-2 quarter-final win over Greece and Prandelli is mindful of the risk of pushing too far forward against a German side with the pace to punish on the counter-attack. Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli is one player the Germans have admitted they will pay close attention to after he spearheaded an Italian attack which had periods of impressive form against the Three Lions.

With only a three-day turn-around between the quarter and semi, Prandelli has injury concerns over midfielder Daniele De Rossi and right-back Ignazio Abate, while Italy’s other right-back Christian Maggio is suspended. Aside from a 1-1 draw in a friendly in February 2011, the last time the teams met in competition was the 2006 World Cup semi-final when the Italians won 2-0 after extra time as they went on to win the title. But Germany coach Joachim Loew was defiant when asked about the lack of German success against the Azzurri over the years. “We can’t turn back time, forget about about it, the past doesn’t play a role in our planning,” said the 52-year-old. “Another stat is that Germany has never won against Italy in a major tournament, but so what? “The situation is entirely different now and this is not an issue for us.”

But Italian playmaker Andrea Pirlo believes the Germans are running scared and the 33-year-old believes that history will give Italy the edge. “Germany are definitely scared of us, they know we can create difficulties for them given what’s happened in the past and they will have to be careful to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2006,” said the Juventus midfielder. Loew has developed a habit for pulling surprises at this tournament highlighted by changing three of Germany’s six-man attack against Greece in axing striker Mario Gomez, plus forwards Lukas Podolski and Thomas Mueller. It means competition is fierce for places in the starting line-up and Borussia Dortmund-bound Marco Reus looked sharp against the Greeks on his tournament debut before scoring Germany’s fourth goal. Loew has only concerns over pivotal midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger who is still feeling the effects of tearing ankle ligaments in February, but the 27-year-old took full part in training this week. Having won the so-called “Group of Death” by beating Holland, Portugal and Denmark en route to the knock-out phase, the Germans have made no secret of their desire to lift the Henri Delaunay Cup. “We knew before the tournament that we have a strong team,” said Real Madrid star Mesut Ozil. “If we play as we know we can, I am convinced we will beat Italy.” afp

 Can anyone stop Spain? After winning the UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, Spain looks poised to win their third straight major international tournament and cement the place in history as the greatest national team of all-time.
Spain has been playing in their typical Spanish style; steady as a rock. Aside from a 4-0 thrashing they dished out to a weak Irish squad, Spain has muddied along with a 1-1 tie against Italy and a 1-0 win against Croatia before defeating France 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
Meeting Spain in the semifinals is Portugal. After slipping 0-1 to Germany in their opening match; Portugal has been a runaway freight train. The Portuguese squad has won three straight, including wins over Denmark (3-2) and Netherlands (2-1) in the group stage and Czech Republic (1-0) in the quarterfinals.
Spain will be the clear cut favorite in the semifinals. As defending Euro and World Cup champs, they have earned the right to be called "world's best" until they can be defeated. But one can't help but think that perhaps now is Portugal's time. After many disappointing performances in recent major tournaments, this might be their time to breakthrough and make their mark on the world stage.
Here is the information you need to know for the first semifinal match between Spain and Portugal:

Event: UEFA Euro 2012 Semifinals
Stadium: Donbass Arena - Donetsk, Ukraine
Date: Wednesday, June 28
Time: 2:45 AM GMT(+8:00)
Teams: Spanish National Team vs. Portuguese National Team
Winner: Advances to the finals to face the winner of the Germany-Italy semifinal match




Semifinal 2 - Germany vs. Italy
Germany is on a roll. After dominating the group stage with impressive wins over Portugal (1-0), Netherlands (2-1) and Denmark (2-1), the Germans took their play to a whole other level by crushing a feisty Greece squad 4-2 in the quarterfinal round.
Waiting Germany in the semifinal round is Italy. The Italians have had a tougher time making it this far in the tournament. Italy tied both Spain and Croatia with 1-1 scores and beat a hapless Irish team 2-0 to advance to the knockout stage. In their quarterfinal against England, Italy played well but needed to come from behind in PKs to advance onward.
Germany will be the clear favorite in this match, but Italy will be tricky. Expect the Italians to sit back and play a ball-controlling style to counter the impressive team speed of Germany. Even if Italy plays well, it is hard to imagine anything but a Germany - Spain final.
Here is the information you need to know for the second semifinal match between Germany and Italy:
Event: UEFA Euro 2012 Semifinals
Stadium: National Stadium - Warsaw, Poland
Date: Thursday, June 29
Time: 2:45 AM GMT(+8:00)
Teams: German National Team vs. Italian National Team
Winner: Advances to the finals to face the winner of the Spain-Portugal semifinal match